101 Small Things You Can Do Today to Boost Your Health & Happiness

So you’ve begun the new year bursting with good intentions to eat healthier, move more and meditate daily. In your enthusiasm, however, it’s tempting to go overboard, trying to go from midnight-snacking coach potato to a gym-loving, juice fasting fit girl/guy in a few weeks time.

Unfortunately, drastic lifestyle changes usually don’t lead to lasting results. It’s much easier and more realistic to take small, doable steps towards your goals. So have a look at these 101 simple things you can do today to boost your health and happiness!

Feel Energetic

01: Finish your morning shower with one minute of cold water for a short hydrotherapy session.

02: Swap one cup of coffee a day for a green tea or matcha latte. You still get a subtle energy boost, but with the added health benefits of green tea leaves.

10: Let the sunshine in. Light tells your internal clock it’s time to wake up, so expose yourself to natural sunlight in the morning by opening the curtains, taking a short walk outside or swapping your alarm clock for a Wake-Up Light.

Eat Healthily

11: Have veggies with most meals, from a green smoothie or a spinach omelet for breakfast to a (side) salad for lunch.

12:Beat mindless eating. Eat at the dinner table, never straight from a package or use smaller plates, bowls and serving spoons to effortlessly decrease your food intake.

26: Put fatty fish on the menu. Salmon, mackerel, herring and sardines are a valuable source of healthy fats like omega 3’s.

27: Eat the rainbow. The colour of your food tells you a lot about its nutritional value. You can effortlessly eat a more varied and balanced diet by filling your shopping cart and plate with red, orange, yellow, green and blue/violet produce.

28: Learn to make a healthier version of your favourite comfort food.

29: Stay hydrated by carrying a BPA-free water bottle with you.

30: Make a list of 7 healthy, tasty and quick recipes you can turn to when you’re wondering (again) what’s for dinner tonight.

Be Happy!

31: Keep a gratitude journal. Each night, write down 3 things that went well that day.

32: Develop meaningful connections. Make time each week to deepen your relationships with your family or hang out with your friends. Be kind to everyone you meet: looking people in the eye, smiling and a genuinely friendly attitude can make all the difference in their day – and yours.

44: Do activities you enjoy. Moving your body shouldn’t be a gruelling endeavour, but more a natural state of being and transporting yourself. So do what you love, whether that’s a leisurely hike through nature, becoming a bad ass ninja in karate class or dancing the night away with your friends.

45:Use your own bodyweight: do squats, lunges, push-ups and jumping jacks to start building muscle strength. No fancy equipment needed.

54: Give yourself a bed time. It helps your body to get a better sleep-wake rhythm, especially if you have trouble sleeping.

55: Find better ways to recharge than mindlessly flicking channels or browsing online. Cozy up on the couch with a good book and cup of tea, go for a leisurely walk or have a warm bath.

56: Let go of people, obligations and beliefs that weigh you down.

57: Unplug for an evening, day or weekend. Program your phone to go on airplane mode starting 1 hour before bedtime until 1 hour after you wake up, put your tablet in a drawer or consider taking a social media sabbatical.

Boost Your Brain Power

62: Train your mental muscles by challenging yourself every day: learn a new word (in a foreign language), do crossword puzzles, watch TED-talks or thought-provoking documentaries, read a chapter in a book instead of scanning lines online or come up with 10 interesting ideas to exercise your creative muscles.

63: Green surroundings are known to ease mental fatigue. So adorn your desk with plants, choose a natural scene as your screen saver and head into nature for leisurely walks and bike rides.

64: Single-task. Constantly switching your attention comes at a price. For the next hour, do only one thing at a time and stay focused on the task at hand.

65: Make time for daydreaming, reflection and stillness. Your mind needs a break from constantly processing information to wander freely and make creative connections between. That’s why you get your best ideas in the shower or during a leisurely walk.

66: Mind your posture. Research shows that how you carry yourself also impacts your energy levels, mood and ability to focus.

67: Turn off email and social media notifications when doing work that requires your full focus.

68: Meditation is weightlifting for the mind. The habit of quieting the constant chatter in your mind strengthens your ability to concentrate.

69: Offload things to remember to ‘external harddrives’, such as your calendar, to-do lists and reminders, to make mental room for more challenging cognitive tasks.

82: When something bad happens, ask yourself “How can I …?” instead of “Why is this happening?” to move from a problem-focused mindset to solutions. Try to take decisive action whenever you can instead of getting caught up in rumination.

83: Learn to recognize common thinking errors. It’s the first step to changing harmful thinking patterns and replacing negative statements with more helpful ones.

84: Build a coping kit for tough times – (a list of) objects and activities that comfort you and lift your spirit.

85: Get familiar with simple relaxation techniques like deep belly breathing or a guided meditation.

86: Foster your relationships and don’t be afraid to accept practical help and emotional support from the people around you.

87: Cultivate an optimistic outlook on life. Trying to see to good in every day doesn’t detract from your right to struggle with sadness, anger and despair – but it does make your heartache more bearable. Often it’s the little positive things in life that help you get through the big bad ones.

90: Although it won’t feel like that during your darkest moments, many people who faced illness, loss and hardship say they’ve found a new sense of meaning, a deepened spirituality, stronger connections or a heightened appreciation for life. Perceiving heartache and adversity as an inevitable part of life that also offers opportunity for self-discovery, purpose and growth strengthens your ability to bounce back from tough times.

Up Your Self-Care Routines

91: Drink a glass of warm lemon water in the morning to kickstart your digestion and boost your immunity.

95: Get your daily dose of motivation by creating a vision board, hanging a positive affirmation on your mirror or keeping a Future Listography Journal to make lists of all the exciting things you hope to do once day.

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About me

I’m a psychologist living with chronic illness. I want to help you feel as energetic, symptom-free and happy as possible, by showing you how to create lasting health habits and by giving you advice on how to cope with (chronic) health problems.